Monday, December 15, 2014

After a quiet Sunday, we're back with news and updates on this Monday morning, so what's on tap? Lots of updates and media from a local independent metal label, and first, some updates on one of the upcoming 2015 battles of the bands, so here's what you should know!

We'll start today with the latest updates concerning the Rednecks Saloon Battle of the Bands on February 20th, mostly concerning the lineup, so are you curious who's playing yet? Despite some verbal confirmations by bands on their own pages, co-promoters Steven Flint announced on the Facebook event page yesterday that band registration forms are now available to sign up with, and if you contact him at this link, he can arrange a pick-up or drop-off of the forms to fill out. Completed registration forms (plus the $100 band entry fee) must be submitted by Thursday, January 15th, so you have a month to officially sign up for the battle! Twin City Sound must have the registration form and entry fee for you or your band to be locked into a slot for the battle, and remember, don't let the entry fee scare you, as you'll make the money all back if you sell all 10 tickets that your band is given!

Message Steven Flint or fellow promoter Terry Eaton A.S.A.P. to arrange a pick up or delivery of registration forms for the February battle, before it's too late! Now, with that said, promoters appear to be waiting until bands are 100% registered before officially confirming performers (that, or until the January 15th deadline), but who has stated their involvement so far? Members of local death metal veterans The Bear Hunters and grunge/hard rock quartet Haggith confirmed that they're "in", as per the Facebook event page, while local doom/punk trio The Revolution indicated that they'd be competing as well on their own Facebook page, despite not announcing a new bassist yet. Steven also tagged various artists who had shown interest in a comment on the above registration form post on the event page, including members of The Danger Cats, Beaumont Avenue, Them, Infamous, and Project 421, but none of these bands have publically acknowledged plans to play this battle, at least not as of this writing.

Until an official announcement from promoters is made, we won't officially confirm any of the competing bands, but things are shaping up well at this early stage! For the record, we've heard no new confirmations yet regarding the Canadian Nightclub Battle throughout March since we first plugged the event on the site, but we'll be sure to let you know when updates and additions are announced! I'm excited for both battles, so stay tuned for updates, and contact Steven and/or Terry for your registration forms!

We'll close with the latest updates from local goregrind/rap label Blood Shed Productions and their heavier acts, who have been hard at work on new demos in recent weeks, including a full length release from goregrind duo Rotopsy and early plans for an EP from Brutally Fatal (their first under their current name and lineup), which have been acknowledged on the label's Facebook page in the past week. Right now though, much of the Blood Shed's work is concerning their planned 11-way split demo, which is being previewed via new YouTube channel uploads and on flagship band Crucify The Whore's Bandcamp page. The latter has 3 new songs that C.T.W. will include on the split disc, which suggests that bands will be allowed to submit multiple songs for inclusion, but given that only one of C.T.W.'s new songs exceeds 73 seconds, it helps to have a few. We won't give the title of two of them here due to their potentially offensive content, but one song is called "Verbally Abused", and two of them are posted on YouTube.

Embedded below though are multiple tracks from C.T.W./Rotopsy mainstay Tyler Gibson's cybergrind solo project Malignant Neoplasm, who are also being featured on the split, though the brief songs aren't titled via this YouTube upload from last week. The techno-infused noise metal won't be everyone's taste, but there's originality and drive at work, so give the new songs a listen below, and stay tuned for more on upcoming releases!

Finally, here's two new videos from the Rotopsy camp, both coming from house party concerts this summer! One is from the private release party for Crucify the Whore's release party for their "Welcome To Earth" demo on July 1st, which captures Dylan & Tyler playing the Rotopsy original "Grinded Live In Your Faces". Uploaded last week, the video was filmed vertically on a cell phone camera, is backwards, only captures Tyler in frame, and is of mixed quality otherwise, but Rotopsy fans should find something to like from the music and intensity, so give it a look above! Embedded below though is a video from a private concert on August 23rd that served as the live debut for The Apocalypse Afterparty, but also featured Rotopsy, Bad Back, and other acts. The video features Rotopsy playing their songs "Lesbian Luxuries of a Lobotomy Factory" and "Let Us Rot", but if the volume was down, you'd have to take their word for it, as the camera was oddly set up in another room.

The camera was shooting through a doorway with no lighting in the room with the stage, but it may have been an issue with space in the building, as there are attendees headbanging in front of the camera. The audio quality isn't bad though, but I do wish that the camera was mounted in the same room where we could actually see Rotopsy. Give it a look below, and see more from their summer house parties at the above links!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes this week, plus this month's poll! Thanks everyone!